Page 73 of Hot Saltwater Kisses

Oh. Yeah, I could see how that’d be... discouraging. Didn’t excuse it, no. But... I got it, just a little. Why he might have kept his mouth shut.

“Maybe he did try,” I admitted.

Nia joined me on the bed and wrapped an arm around my waist, silent as she rested her head on my shoulder.

“I…” The pattern of the bedspread danced in front of my eyes. “There were a few times, I guess. Just… idle chatter, you know? About resort hierarchies and stuff.” I cleared my throat. “I might’ve implied there’s no way I’d date him if he were my boss. Or—more than implied.”

“Yeah, I thought so.” She didn’t sound surprised. “Doesn’t exonerate him, but way to raise the stakes.”

“Exonerate?” I snorted, throat fluttering with something heavy and sick. “But, yeah. Show me a mouth, and I’ll put my foot in it.”

It didn’t excuse a damn thing, no. Still—if that had been me in his place… God, I didn’t know if I’d have spoken up any sooner. If I’d cared, if I’d wanted to keep him for as long as I could…

Did he care?

‘We’re not done. We’re not.’

He’d crossed a fucking line there. It’d been a shit move, trying to use my weakness for him to make me crack. Anger sparked in my gut, dizzy-hot, and I exhaled around it.

Shitty, yeah. But not the act of someone who didn’t care.

God.

“He would have told you.” The calm certainty in Nia’s voice clashed with the storm inside my mind. “He was just working up the courage.”

I struggled to focus on anything other than the rush of blood. “Because I’m so very scary.”

“You can be a little scary.” She gave my hip a gentle pinch. “You sure scare him. Or rather, losing you does.”

“He told you that?”

“Kind of. Just not in those exact words.”

I held on to that idea for a second before I asked, “Did you yell at him, too?”

“Just a little.”

“He’s theboss, Nia.”

“And you’re my friend. There’s no competition.”

God, I loved her. She was the best, thebest, and I wasn’t quite sure what I had done to deserve her. I must have been a saint in a previous life. Maybe I’d saved a bunch of orphans or cured diseases.

I slung an arm around her shoulders and drew her closer. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, babe. I know you’d do the same for me.”

“In a heartbeat.” I hesitated, my thoughts slippery and edged in uncertainty. “So, uh... Logan?”

She was quiet for a moment. “What if there was a way for you to stay?”

Dust danced in a thin beam of sunlight, sparkling like glitter. I closed my eyes against the brightness. “I can’t. Even if you’re right, even if he does…”

“Love you?” she finished gently.

“Even if he loves me, yeah.” It tasted impossible on my tongue, heady and absurd. Logan was so far out of my league, I’d need a telescope just to see the field.

No.

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